NEW HOME-COOKIN': Classic Lemon Bars

It's been way too long since I sat down to blog...

While I've still been cooking, I've also been working through my first year teaching, as well as finding, buying and moving into our first home. It's been such an exciting few months! We absolutely love our "new" house in San Carlos and are enjoying the cute little town more and more as we continue to explore it. As you can imagine, liking the kitchen was part of our home-buying criteria. Even though it's small in size, it has everything we need with new, high-quality appliances, a nice deep sink, and beautiful warm-colored granite counter tops and coordinating tile back splash. It's also really bright with a window to the front yard, skylight, and light fixtures. When I really started to do a happy dance is when I found out there are two pull-out drawers for pots and pans. Oh baby!


I'm hoping to get back into Mission Delish, writing even more frequently than before... starting with a recipe for Classic Lemon Bars-- something I haven't tried making before. They were inspired by our friendly next door neighbors who generously offered us lemons from their thriving 40 year old tree. I figured if they were going to share with me, I wanted to share something I made with the lemons back :)

As far as the bars went, it was a learning process that turned out more deliciously than beautifully (which is all that really matters in the end). The lemon filling is tart and refreshing, but what really stands out is the perfectly sweet and fragrant vanilla shortcrust. The buttery vanilla smell that filled the house, alone, made it worth the effort. And speaking of effort, don't be alarmed with the lengthy recipe. While you need to plan ahead and allot a good amount of time to make the bars (there is a lot of "do this then chill it" and "bake this then let it cool"), each step was pretty easy. Also, with the exception of getting those fresh lemons, the ingredient list is small and made up of things you probably already have at home.

Things to Note:

• Because of how much time each of the steps takes with all of the chilling and cooling, I suggest making the crust a day ahead if you don't have the time to do it all in one night. The cookbook says you can bake the crust up to 3 days in advance even, making sure to wrap it in plastic and store it at room temperature. It says you can freeze the baked crust for up to a month, as well, if you want to start churning out these lemon bars on a regular basis :)
• Both the crust and lemon bar recipes double just fine. To make sure I was doubling it properly, I scooped the lemon filling with a measuring cup before pouring it onto each of the crusts to make sure each pan got the same amount.
  
• When making dough, it's hard to know just how much water to add or how moist it should be when you're kneading it. I doubled the recipe, and I found the first half pretty crumbly but kept going anyway. I added water to the second half, and it was so much easier to knead and roll out. When in doubt, add water.
• I'm not sure if this was in error or to be expected, but my lemon filling leaked under the crust (loose from the foil after it was separately baked) and pushed it to the top. The lemon bars came out "upside down" with filling on the bottom and crust on the top. Once I pulled the foil out of the pans, I flipped the bars upside down so that the crust landed on the cutting board. I used a spatula to separate the foil from the filling and smoothed the filling over like I was frosting a cake. Pretty? No. Tasty? Yes :) If anyone knows whether that was "supposed" to happen or not, please do tell.
  

CLASSIC LEMON BARS
recipe adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet,
makes 36 squares

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe Vanilla Shortcrust Dough prepared through Step 2 (see below)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup strained freshly squeezed lemon juice (from ~3 lemons)
• powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Equipment:

• 9 inch square cake pan (I used 8 inch)
• silicone/rubber spatula
• cooling rack
• whisk
• medium bowl
• fine-mesh strainer
• serrated knife for cutting the bars
  

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position and oven rack in the center.
2. Line the pan with foil across the bottom and up all four sides, then lightly coat with Crisco (book suggests melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray). With the spatula, scrape the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Chill for 30 minutes.
3. Bake the chilled crust for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
4. Whisk the egges and granulated sugar together in the medium bowl. Whisk in the flour until there are no lumps. While in the lemon juice. Pour the filling over the crust. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is set and does not jiggle when you tap the side of the pan. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. When cool, refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. To serve, grasp the foil and lift the cookies out of the pan. Set them on a cutting surface. Gently peel back the foil, using the tip of a thin knife or spatula to help separate the bars from the foil if necessary. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares and transfer to a serving plate or storage container. Just before serving, use a fine-mesh strainer to dust powdered sugar over the tops. (Wait until the last minute to do this or the powdered sugar will soak into the filling and look blotchy.)
   

The bars keep well at room temperature for 1 day. For longer storage, keep them airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The bars cannot be frozen, however, because the crust becomes soggy when defrosted.



VANILLA SHORTCRUST DOUGH
recipe adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet
shortened specifically for the Classic Lemon Bars recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 3 teaspoons water

Method:
I chose to make this recipe by hand, but you can also use a food processor. Why by hand? Just as easy with less dirty dishes :)

TO MIX DOUGH BY HAND:

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the medium bowl and blend well with the whisk. Add the cold butter pieces and toss until they are lightly coated with the flour. Use a pastry blender or your fingertips to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs or crushed crackers. If at any time during this process the butter softens and becomes warm, place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before continuing. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon water. Add the dry ingredients and toss between your fingertips or with a fork 20 to 30 times to evenly distribute the moisture. The dough will still look very crumbly, but if the mixture is squeezed in your hand, it should hold together. If not, sprinkle another teaspoon of water over the top and toss to blend. Repeat if necessary.
2. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead gently 2 or 3 times, just to finish bringing it together. Shape it into a disk about 6 inches in diameter...